Loading device for rotary hoppers of filling-replenishing looms.



No. 802,529 PATENTED 00124, 1905. A. E. STAFFORD. LOADING DEVICE FORROTARY HOPPERS OF FILLING REPLENISHING LOOMS.

APPLIOATIGN FILED JULY 3,1905.

ALFRED E. STAFFORD, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPERCOMPANY, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1905.

Application filed July 3, 1905. Serial No. 268,028.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED E. STAFFORD, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Hopedale, county of Worcester, State of Mas- 5sachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Loading Devices for RotaryHoppers of Filling-Replenishing Looms, of which the followingdescription, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification, like char- 1 acters on the drawings representing likeparts.

This invention relates to automatic looms oi' the Northrop type; and ithas for its object the production of means whereby a plurality or gangof filling-carriers or bobbins I can be simultaneously inserted in thehopper. A loom of this type is shown in United States patent toNorthrop, No. 529,940, the intermittingly-rotated hopper comprising twocircular and connected disks, the one having butt-receiving pockets andthe other being provided with tip-holders for the filling-carriers,which are removed one" by one by a transferrer and inserted in theshuttle. The hopper-stand is provided with a flange which 2 5 overhangsthe greater portion of the periphery oi the butt-supporting disk toprevent accidental derangement of the butts of the filling-carriers, andthe attendant inserts the latter one by one, butt first, by placing thebutt 3 under the flange and into a pocket, thereafter depressing the tipinto engagement with the opposite tip-holder.

In my present invention I employ a gangloader constructed and arrangedto supporta 3 5 gang of filling-carriers with their tips outermost,their butts resting against a curved base provided with a handle. Theflange referred to is cut away for a portion of its lengthcorrespondingto five or more pockets,

4 and the latter are radially notched. The gang of filling-carriers areapplied to the hopper and pressed simultaneously into place, their buttsentering the exposed pockets, into the notches of which the temporarysupports for the filling-carriers enter, and by an endwise movement theattendant withdraws the supports through the notches, leaving theseveral filling-carriers in the hopper. This facilitates the loadingoperation, inasmuch as a number 5 of filling-carriers are inserted inthe time now required to insert one.

The various novel features of my invention will be fully described inthe subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in thefollowing claims.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the greater portion of a hopper of thetype referred to and showing a gang of filling-carriers about to beinserted therein by means of a loading device embodying my invention.Fig. 2 is an inner side elevation of a portion of the buttreceiving diskof the hopper, showing the cutaway flange and the loading device inposition; and Fig. 3 is a detached View in elevation of the loadingdevice, one of the lillingcarriers being shown in place thereon bydotted lines.

Referring to Fig. 1, the hopper-stand A rigidly mounted on thebreast-beam A, the hopper rotatably mounted on the stand and comprisingtwo connected circular disks, the inner disk a, having acircularly-arranged series of peripheral open-ended pockets 2 for thebutts b of the filling-carriers or bobbins, and the outer disk a, shownby dotted lines and in practice provided with tip-holding devices, maybe and are all of well-known construction and of the familiar Northroptype referred to.

The stand A is provided with an annular flange c, which usuallyoverhangs the greater part of the periphery of the disk a, to preventaccidental displacement of the butts of the bobbins, the latter beinginserted-one by one by first placing the butt under the flange into apocket and then depressing the tip into engagement with the oppositetip-holder on the disk (1/. 1 have cut away a portion of this flange atthe upper part of the hopper, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to expose alength oi arc of the disk at corresponding to six or seven of thepockets 2, and the ends of the latter are radially notched, as shown at3. (See Fig. 2.)

The loading device embodying my present invention is herein shown ascomprising a curved base 4, having an overl'langing lip 5 projectingbeyond one side, a rigidly-attached handle 6 on the other side of thebase, and a series of straight parallel supports 7, fixedly mounted onthe base and projecting from it oppositely to the handle. These supports7 are conveniently made as cylindrical rods of a diameter greater thanthat 01" the bore at the tip end of a bobbin, but which will looselyenter the butt-end thereof, and I have shown tubular or socketed bosses8, Fig. 3, forming an integral part of the base t, in which the rods arefixedly held. The lip 5 overhangs the bosses, as shown in Fig. 3, andserves as a stop to simultaneously engage the butts of the bobbins whenmounted on the supports 7, positioning the group of bobbins in readinessfor insertion in the hopper.

In operation the attendant places a bobbin on each support, holding theloading device by its handle in the left hand, and then by a singlemovement places it on the hopper in the position shown in Fig. 1, sothat the butts of the group of bobbins will enter a corresponding numberof pockets 2, exposed or unprotected by the cutting away of the flange0. lVith the right hand the operative presses the bobbins down intoplace, seating the butts in the pockets and bringing the tips intooperative engagement with the corresponding tipholders. This actioncarries the inner ends of the supports down into the notches 3, as willbe seen from an inspection of Fig. 2, and then by an endwise movement ofthe left hand the loading device is drawn to the left, Fig. 1,withdrawing the supports 7 through said notches 3 and out from the boresof the bobbins, leaving the latter in the hopper. Thus the group or gangof bobbins is loaded into the hopper in the time now required to loadone.

It should be stated that the spaces between the supports 7 are equal tothe distances between adjacent notches of the pockets, so that not onlyare the bobbins centered when inserted, but the supports can bewithdrawn from the bobbins through such notches.

The hands of the operator are indicated in Fig. 1 by dotted lines tomore clearly illustrate the loading operation.

After the bobbins are inserted and the loading device withdrawn thefilling ends from the several bobbins are carried over to the endholdingdisk Z2 (see dotted lines Fig. 1) and fastened, as is usual.

The size of the temporary supports prevents the operative from applyingthe bobbins tip end first, so that no care has to be taken in thisrespect, as the only way the bobbins will slip onto the supports is buttfirst.

The construction of the loading device is simple, strong, and durable,and it greatly facilitates the loading of the hopper.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a loom, a rotatable hopper comprising two connected circular disksone of which is provided with a series of peripheral pockets to receivethe butts of the filling-carriers, each pocket having a radial notch, afixed flange overhanging the edge of said disk and cut away near its topto expose a plurality of positely-extended handle on the base, the

temporarily -sustained fillingcarriers being inserted simultaneously inthe hopper at the cut-away portion of the flange, the notches in thepockets permitting withdrawal of the supports when the butts of thefilling-carriers are seated in the pockets.

2. In a loom, a rotatable hopper comprising connected tip and buttsupporting disks, the latter having a circularly-arranged series ofradially-notched, open-ended pockets adjacent its periphery, ahopper-stand having aflange overhanging a portion of the periphery ofsaid disk, and a removable hopper-loader comprising a curved base havingan attached handle, a plurality of straight, parallel supports toloosely enter the butt-ends of a gang of filling-carriers, said supportsbeing rigidly secured to the base, and a lip or stop on the latter toposition the butts, the gang of filling-carriers being inserted in thehopper simultaneously, their butts being seated in the pockets exposedor unprotected by the over hanging flange, the inner ends of thesupports entering the radial notches and being withdrawn endwise fromthe filling carriers through said notches.

3. A loading device for rotary loom-hoppers, consisting of alongitudinally-curved base having an attached handle, and a series ofstraight, parallel supports rigidly attached to the base and projectingtherefrom oppositely to the handle, to loosely enter the butt ends of aseries of filling-carriers and temporarily support the samein positionto be simultaneously inserted in the loom-hopper.

4:. A loading device for rotary loom-hoppers, consisting of alongitudinally-curved base having an attached handle, a series ofsocketed bosses on the opposite side of the base, a straightsupporting-rod fixedly secured in each boss and extending from the basein parallelism, and a lip on the base extending from one to the otherend thereof and overhanging the bosses, each rod being adapted toloosely enter the butt-end of and temporarily support a filling-carrier,the lip positioning the same in readiness to be inserted simultaneouslyin the hopper, the curvature of the base corresponding to the curvatureof the hopper.

5. A loading device for rotary loom-hoppers, consisting of alongitudinally-curved base having an attached handle, and aseries ofstraight cylindrical rods rigidly attached to the base and projecting inparallelism therefrom oppositely to the handle, the diameter of the rodsbeing greater than the bore of a filling-carrier at the tip end thereof,said rods being adapted to loosely enter the butt-ends seams only of aplurality of filling-carriers, and temporarily support them in positionto be inserted simultaneously in the hopper.

6. A loom-hopper, and a loading device therefor consisting of a baseshaped to lit the hopper, and a series of straight, parallel supportsrigidly attached to the base and projecting at right angles to it,adapted to enter the interiors of filling-earriers and temporarilysupport the same in position to be simultaneously inserted in thehopper.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ALFRED E. STAFFORD.

Witnesses:

GEORGE OTIS DRAPER, ERNEsT NV. 001).

